Srinagar, Feb 22 (IANS): Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, two former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers, on Friday welcomed a Supreme Court direction on protection of Kashmiri students outside the state.

An apex court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hearing a petition filed by Tariq Adeeb, asked for steps to be taken to end all targeted attacks on Kashmiris residing outside their state in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama attack.

Adeeb had sought direction to the Centre and state governments to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed.

Seeking a response from the states, the top court directed their chief secretaries and police chiefs to "take prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott" of Kashmiris residing in their territories.

"Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye," PDP chief Mufti tweeted.

"Grateful to Supreme Court for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD (Human Resource Development) Minister (Prakash Javadekar) was busy living in denial and (Meghalaya) Governor (Tathagata Roy) was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the SC stepped in," Abdullah also tweeted.